Wednesday, March 2, 2016

by Pete Zuck, R&D, Vegetable Product Manager

Just as we reach the last few weeks of another Maine winter,
our once seemingly boundless supplies of storage crops are dwindling. For those
of us whose storage conditions are less than ideal, some of the fussier items are in serious jeopardy by
now. The basement is a few degrees too warm? Perhaps your potatoes have begun
to sprout. The fridge’s “crisper” is a bit too dry? Maybe the carrots have lost
their crunch. As for those storage onions, you never know what you might find
when you slice them open.

One crop that is easy for almost anyone to store successfully,
however, is winter
squash. A good butternut or kabocha will stay delicious well into the
spring, stored at what most Mainers consider “room temperature” for this time
of year – about 60ºF/16ºC. In fact, some of the longer-storing varieties are
just beginning to reach peak flavor as the dark nadir of the winter solstice
sets in — refer to our Winter
Squash Curing & Storage Chart for specifics.

Because it’s so reliable, we Mainers tend to put up a lot of
squash each fall. While it’s great to have a dependable, highly nutritious food
source on hand, by March it gets to be a little redundant on the menu. Winter
staples like mashed butternut and squash soup use up a lot of material, but they
can get tiresome. With each passing potluck, our friends grow more indifferent
to our offerings.

Pete Zuck, Johnny's R&D Vegetable Product Manager

The key, I’ve found, is to break away from our traditional
vision of squash. Let’s face it; many Americans still equate squash with baby
food — maybe they’ve only ever had it one way — mashed. And even then, it is often not the most flavorful type or
variety, or given the simple enhancements it needs to really impress. We tend
to stick with butternut as our go-to storage squash. While there is nothing
wrong with this type (and a well-bred butternut can
be delightful on its own — our award-winning Butterscotch,
for instance), most butternuts are better suited as ingredients in a broader
recipe, whereas other types are actually much better as stand-alone dishes.

Glaze Ingredients

A couple of years ago, I really discovered kabocha squash.
It helped that I was working for a company known for producing some of the
best-eating varieties, with vast fields of them just a short walk from the
break room. I credit our company founder, Rob Johnston, with turning me on to
kabocha. When I started working here, Rob would often sit down to lunch with a
big wedge of Winter
Sweet or another of his elegant creations, adorned with nothing but salt,
pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. As I adopted this practice myself, I
quickly began to appreciate how different and wonderful kabocha squash is. The
dry texture ate more like a baked potato than like the mealy mush I was used
to. There were subtle flavors in the background that reminded me of maple syrup
and spiced rum. It was sweeter than butternut, and I didn’t even have to peel
the skin off!

This time of year, I cook a big kabocha most Sunday nights,
then pop it in the fridge and reheat it each morning for a simple
squash-and-eggs breakfast. I just follow Rob’s simple recipe (although I prefer
butter to olive oil), and I find it’s great fuel for the morning routine. It’s
a sort of sweet twist on hash browns, with perhaps a healthier starch profile,
too.

It is not surprising that kabocha is the squash-of-record in
Japan. The Japanese market is very
particular about eating quality in vegetables. The sweet corn must be tender
and highly sweet, with just a hint of a floral accent. The tomatoes, preferably
pink, must be low in acid and high in umami,
a flavor concept embodying “pleasant savoriness,” first defined in Japan over a
century ago. It is a gourmand culture, and their chosen winter squash is
kabocha. (To learn why some winter squash and edible pumpkins taste so much better
than others, read Eating
Quality in Winter Squashes, with an explanation by Dr. J. Brent Loy, a
classical plant breeder with whom Rob Johnston has collaborated for over three
decades.)

In searching for ways to experience squash the way they do
in Japan, I’ve been trying a few variations on miso-glazed kabocha. The concept
is simple and the recipe adjustable, and it highlights everything that’s so
great about this squash. It incorporates the core flavors of sweet, sour, salty
— and probably umami (but I’m not
qualified to say for sure). And, it’s the perfect way to share and celebrate the
last of last year’s winter squash, as we plan for the upcoming planting season.
I hope you enjoy it enough to try it six different ways.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

by Joy Longfellow

R&D
Breeding Team, Johnny’s Selected Seeds

Early February saw several members of Johnny’s Research, Breeding,
and Sales teams head west for the Organic Seed Alliance’s 8th Organic Seed
Growers Conference: Cultivating Seeds of Resilience.The Pacific Northwest is a
powerhouse for seed production in the US, and Johnny’s has many loyal customers
and seed producers there. The Organic
Seed Alliance (OSA) is a strong voice in the conversation around organic
seed production, and over 500 farmers, plant breeders, seed producers,
researchers, and others came together for the four-day event at the Oregon
State University campus in Corvallis, Oregon.

Five Highlights from the Johnny’s Crew

1.Finding Our Place in Resilient Seed Systems

Much of the conversation during the
conference revolved around building resilient seed systems at local and
national levels. As our food systems come under increasing pressure from
changing climate, changing politics, and changing regulations surrounding seeds,
the need grows for systems that can withstand future shocks and stresses.

One highlight was the keynote address by Cary
Fowler, author of Shattering: Food,
Politics and the Loss of Genetic Diversity. Cary Fowler is also the motivating
force behind the Svalbard Seed Vault, the world’s largest secure seed storage
facility, located north of the Arctic Circle in Norway. Fowler spoke about the
increasing need for preservation of genetic resources, reminding us that “We
protect what we love.”

Some of the many seeds available at the Seed Exchange,held the last night of the conference

Trialing our products with farmer–cooperators
connects us with a community of expert growers with whom we can evaluate
prospective new releases.

3.Sharing Our Knowledge

John Navazio, Lindsay Wyatt, Lainie
Kertesz, and Brenna Chase
combined forces to give a talk titled Perspectives
of a Successful, Independent Seed Company — discussing Johnny’s history as
a seed company and contributions to the field of plant breeding. It was a
fitting tribute to the work done by Rob
Johnston, Janika Eckert, and so
many others over Johnny’s long and successful history.

Lainie Kertesz discussing Johnny's contributionsto the field of plant breeding

Rob Johnston and John Navazio were both
invited to participate on a panel of Seed
Elders. Panel members included Carol Deppe and Frank Morton, among others
recognized for their valuable contributions to the fields of plant breeding and
sustainable seed systems. Rob Johnston, unable to attend due to personal
reasons, was notably missed.

4.Getting the Update on Organic Seed
Production & Plant Breeding

The
Organic Seed Alliance announced some results from their most recent assessment of
organic seed production in the United States. The State
of Organic Seed 2016 report showed an increase in growers using organic
seed on their farms, but also stressed the reality that many farmers still face difficulty in sourcing organic seed in large quantities or for specific varieties.

Some
interesting facts from the report:

Greatest barriers to farmers using organic seed

• Specific varieties unavailable as organic seed

• Organic seed not available in sufficient quantity

Top vegetables requested for breeding improvements

• Tomatoes

• Brassicas

• Squash

• Sweet corn

• Peppers

• Lettuce

Top traits farmers requested for breeding improvements in above crops

• Disease resistance

• Yield

• Flavor

• Quality

• Appearance

This
kind of feedback from growers is critical to making sure our efforts match what
our customers need. Events like the Organic Seed Alliance conference give us
the opportunity to get a sense of the market and calibrate our breeding and
research efforts accordingly.

5.Engaging & Eating!

Much
of the conversation during the week revolved around to how to involve people
from the whole food system — from breeding to eating.

The
OSA coordinated several “tastings” over the course of the event, giving
participants a chance to taste and evaluate several varieties of cabbage,
chicory, barley, and squash. A favorite was the raw Black Futsu Squash salad
with anchovies and chicory.

Tasting ... Black Futsu Squash Salad

Johnny’s
crew met with Lane Selman from Oregon State University to discuss the Culinary Breeding Network —
an exciting venture working to connect farmers, chefs, and plant breeders in
the efforts to breed and distribute flavorful vegetables. If you are a chef,
keep an eye out for new varieties from Johnny’s!

The
conference provided opportunities for Johnny’s crew to hear and participate in
some of these conversations. While yielding more information than can fit into
a short blog post, we came away with much to think about and some ideas for how
we at Johnny’s can contribute to building resilient seed systems.

What issues related to seed production and
seed systems are important to you?

Where do you see the need for more work in
seed research and plant breeding?

How are you “cultivating resilience”?

Thanks for reading — and best of luck to you, in
whatever ways you are cultivating resilience!

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Growing Ideas with Johnny's Selected Seeds

About the blog: Here's what's growing on at Johnny's Selected Seeds! We'll answer your questions, let you know what's happening at the farm, and give you plenty of ideas for growing and gardening.Johnny's Mission: To help families, friends, and communities to feed one another by providing superior seeds, tools, information, and service.